Friday, October 15, 2010

Aisha´s Prosthetic Nose

Now that we are all familiar with Aisha and since we have all heard about Aisha´s new nose in the news these days, I bet you could all tell your family and friends quite a few things about Aisha´s story. Some of you seem to be so excited with this piece of news that I do not want to disappoint you but you should know it is not "her" real nose yet but a type of prosthetic nose often used by film actors and actresses. This is likely to be what she will look like after the surgery, though. Click here to know how they intend to reconstruct her ears and nose.

You should also know that Aisha´s stay in the US is a political matter with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Talibans call it, blaming the Americans and viceversa.

According to the BBC, Aisha's case has been used in the West to illustrate the fear of what will happen if US, British and other international forces leave prematurely. Some critics questioned the tone of the Time cover arguing that it was using emotional blackmail and gender politics to justify continued US involvement in Afghanistan.
According to The Daily Mail, the UN estimates that nearly 90 per cent of Afghanistan's women suffer from some sort of domestic abuse. However, the Taliban have released a statement rejecting this: `The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan rejects this fabrication by the Americans, who are publishing these lies to divert attention of the people from their clear and disgraceful defeat,' said a spokesman. 'In sacred Islamic law, cutting off human ears and noses whether the human is alive or dead is illegal and prohibited.´

For a glimpse of what life in Afghanistan is like, watch this trailer of a documentary called "Afghan Star,"a Pop Idol-style TV programme, which shows how controversial music is there: banned by the Taliban (who ruled the country from 1996-2001), music has come to symbolize freedom for the youth, but many are literally risking their lives.

8 comments:

  1. It's very moving this video

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  2. When I watched Aisha on TV I felt glad for her in a strange way, actually I can't explain it.
    I didn't know that it wasn't her own nose,(obviously it's not the same) but it means that they are really helping her. However, I don't like too much all this stuff that it's being created around here and around what she represents.Now, I have a rare feeling , I'm disappointed but I expected that this would happen.
    Using Aisha's story as a tool to justifie the war in these days is fairly annoying, in my opinion. Aisha's case should just be an example of humanity and a warning that this exists,that this happens in the world: It can´t become a political speech to excuse themselves.

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  3. Laura and Andrea, thank you for your comments!
    Laura, I agree the video is moving and knowing that it is a documentary -not fiction- makes you feel sorry for them and happy for us, doesn´t it?
    Andrea, I admire your insight. What a thoughtful comment!

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  4. laura_sanjuan_17 October, 2010

    Yes, I think we should feel very lucky to have the life that we have.

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  5. Ana Rodríguez18 October, 2010

    In my opinion Aisha's case is helpful to the people from rich countries to realise the Afgans' women's suffering, but it doesn't reflect exactly their situation because she was very lucky since although she was abandoned in a mountain to die she survived and also because nowadays she is given the opportunity of having a better life.

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  6. Rosa I. Pérez Parapar18 October, 2010

    Ana, you are right but I guess we´ll never know how many Afghan women die in similar situations.

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  7. Laura Sierra18 October, 2010

    I feel happy to watch Aisha with her new nose and I think that she is really lucky because she had a second chance but there are many women in Afghanistan and more countries who doesn't have another opportunity...
    And, I agree with Laura, we should feel happy to have they life that we have.

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  8. Laura, it´s nice to see we all agree on this

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